Developing-tank.



No. 890,380. PIATENTBD JUNE 9, 190a. A. SH-BRR'IGK.

DEVELOPING TANK.

APPLICATION FILED .11. 11, 1908.

2 sums-51mm 1.

No. 890,380. PATENTED JUNE 9, 1908. A. SHERRIGK.

DEVELOPING TANK. lrrmculou nun) JAN 17 190B 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED ALLYN SHERRIOK, OF LIMA, OHIO.

DEVELOPING-TANK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 9, 1908.

Application filed January 17, 1908. Serial No. 411,306.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLYN SHERRIOK, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lima, in the county of Allen and State of Ohio, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Developing-Tanks, of which thefollowing is a specification.

I My present invention relates to improve ments in developing tanks ofthe class especially adapted for use in the treatment of photographicplates, and it has for its object to provide a simple and efficient tankof this character that is capable of accommodating a number of plates ofdifferent sizes simultaneously, the plates being supported in properposition within the tank by means of racks whichpositionthe plates insuch a manner as to insure a thorough and uniform action of thedeveloping solution on the sen sitized surfaces of the plates.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tank of this characterwherein the plate supporting racks are carried by a frame which isremovable relatively to the tank and which enables the plates to bereadily inserted and removed relatively thereto, the racks beingpreferably inclined relatively to the plane of the bottom of the tank sothat as the solution flows from one end of the tank toward the other, itis caused to flow over the surfaces of all the plates contained in thetank, the top of the tank being closed by a tight fitting lid whichserves to seal the tank and prevent escape of the solution therefrom,and also excludes light from the tank so that the treatment of theplates may be performed in daylight without danger of fogging thesensitized plates.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvementsand com binations and arrangements of parts, all as will be hereinaftermore fully described, the novel features being pointed out particularlyin the claims at the end of the specification.

In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 represents a central longitudinalsection of a developing tank constructed in accordance with my presentinvention; Fig. 2 represents a transverse section on the line 22 of Fig.1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the plate receiving frame removedfrom the tank; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a filling devicewhich may be used to economize in the amount of solution required whenthe tank is only partly filled with plates.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference characters in theseveral views.

Developing tanks constructed in accordance with my present invention maybe made in different sizes to receive plates of four ormore sizes, thatis to say, tanks adapted for use by amateurs may be of such a width,height and length as to accommodate simultaneously plates of the sizesthat are most commonly used in this class of photography, or tanksintended for use by professionals may be made of larger dimensions inorder to accommodate simultaneously the several sizes of plates mostcommonly used by professionals, the primary object of the inventionbeing in either case to provide a tank of this class that is capable ofsimultaneously developing plates of several different sizes, so that thenecessity of using a separate tank for plates of each size is obviated.

The tank shown in the present embodiment of my invention comprisesgenerally a tank proper designated by the reference character 1, thistank being composed of sheet metal or other suitable material of a widthequal to or slightly greater than the length of the largest plate to beaccommodated, and of a height sufficient to accommodate the plates whileresting in an inclined or sloping position relatively to the bottom ofthe tank, the length of the tank being proportioned according to thenumber of plates it is desirable to accommodate at one time. The top ofthe tank is provided with an opening through which the plate containingframe may be introduced, and in order to economize in the amount ofsolution necessary during the development of the plates, it ispreferable to partition ofi one of the corners of the tank by a slopingpartition 2 which is inclined at an angle corresponding approximately tothe incline of the plates while resting in the tank.

In order to prevent spilling or leakage of the solution during thedeveloping operation, and also to enable this operation to be performedin daylight, a removable liquid and light-tight cover is providedfor thetank. It will be understood that any suitable form of cover may be usedthat is capable of sealing the tank to prevent the escape of fluid andexclude light from the tank, the cover 3 shown in the present instancebeing composed of a plate of sheet metal or other appropriate materialhaving a depending flange 4 on the under side thereof and extendingaround the four edges of the cover, this flange being arranged to fitinto a corresponding groove 5 formed in a bead 6 which surrounds theupper edge of the tank, the flange and cooperating groove serving tocenter the lid or cover upon the tank and as aseal to conline thesolution and exclude light from the tank. The lid or cover may beprovided with one or more handles 7 to facilitate its manipulation, andin order to facilitate the filling and emptying of the tank, a spout Sis preferably provided at one end thereof, the spout being in the formof an elbow in order to facilitate the pouring of the solution thereinand prevent the entrance of light to the interior of the tank, and thisspout is closed by a cork or other suitable closure 9.

The plates to be develo ed are supported in proper position within t etank by means of a pair of upper and lower racks 10 and 11 whichpreferably lie in parallel planes or in planes parallel to the top andbottom of the tank. In the present instance these upper and lower racksform a part of a frame which is bodily removable from the tank wherebythe plates may be inserted and removed with the greatest facility. Theracks are preferably so constructed as to form plate receiving channelswhich extend horizontally across the top and bottom of the tank and thewalls of the channels are inclined relatively to the bottom of the tank,the racks being pressed or molded, in the present instance, of strips ofsheet metal or other material connected at their ends by the slopingend-pieces 12 and 13, and the plate receiving channels are formed. bybending the strip flatwise at an oblique angle to form an end wall 14for each channel, the material thence being bent at right angles to theend wall to form one of the side walls 15, and. is thence doubled toform the opposite inclined side wall 16, each plate receiving channelthus comprising a pair of oppositely arranged side walls which areinclined relatively to the plane of the bottom of the tank, and an end.wall which is arranged to cooperate with the respective upper or lowerhorizontal edge of a plate. The receiving channels of the two racks arearranged symmetrically and obliquely opposite to one another, and theinclined side walls of each channel are spaced apart a dis- 'tancegreater than the thickness of the plates so that the latter may eitherextend directly between the corresponding channels of the racks, or theends of the plates may be tilt ably supported in the respectivechannels, that is to say, plates of a larger or smaller size may beaccommodated by introducing one of the horizontal edges of the plateinto a channel offset toward one end of the tank relatively to theopposite channel of the other rack. In other words, the plates may beintroduced between the racks at different angles of inclination, thesmaller plates resting at an angle more nearly vertical, while thelarger plates stand at an angle more nearly horizontal, but in eithercase all of the plates may be accommodated simultaneously, and they alloccupy positions inclined relatively to the bottom of the tank, so thatby tilting the tank to cause the solution to flow longitudinallythereof, the several )lates will serve as deflectors, causing thesolution to flow over the entire surface thereof and thereby effect athorough and uniform developing action.

In order to provide a good circulation of the developing solution, thelower rack is preferably provided. with numerous perforations 17 throughwhich the solution may pass to reach the plates, and if so desired,similar perforations 17 may be provided in the upper rack.

The frame embodying the plate supporting racks is preferably reinforcedby pairs of upper and lower longitudinally extending strips 18 and 19,these strips being preferably composed of sheet metal bent into channelform so as to possess the requisite rigidity and not interfere with thepassage of the solution, and the longitudinal reinforcing strips 18 ofthe upper rack are connected by a pair of longitudinally spacedtransverse members or cross-pieces 20 which serve as handles tofacilitate the removal and replacing of the rack or frame relatively tothe tank.

The insertion and removal of the plates relatively to the frame may beeasily accomplished by standing the rack on one of its sides so that theplate receiving channels are arranged vertically, and in order to retainthe plates within the frame while the latter is being lifted, it ispreferable to close one side of the frame by means of a set of verticalstrips 21 which are attachedto the upper and. lower racks, thesevertical strips however being relatively thin and spaced apart so thatthey will not impede the flow of the developing solution.

A photographic developing tank constructed in accordance with my presentinvention is capable of simultaneously receiving a large number ofplates of different sizes, the peculiarly constructed racks serving tosupport the plates in inclined positions so that the solution in flowingfrom one end of the tank to the other during the rocking thereof iscaused to pass over every portion of each plate, so that a thorough anduniform development is insured, and by so constructing the racks thatthey may be readily removed and replaced in the tank, the insertion andremoval of the plates or negatives may be accomplished with the greatestfacility Ordinarily a single tank will serve for developing the severalsizes of plates ordinarily used, but it will be understood that thetanks may be made in different usually large or small sizes.

sizes in order to accommodate plates of un- It will also be understoodthat while I have illustrated one particular form of liquid andlight-tight cover, I do not wish to be confined to a cover of anyparticular construction, as any form of cover may be used that iscapable of confining the solution or li uid and excluding lightfrom thetank so t at the developing operation may be carried on in daylight andwithout the disadvantages of the usual dark room.

In some cases, and especially during the use of the tank by amateurs,the rack will be only partially filled with plates, and in order toreduce the amount of solution required in developing the reduced numberof plates, it is preferable to provide a filling device 22 whichconforms substantially to the shape of the plate-receiving rack, theupper and lower sides thereof being adapted to snugly fit between theupper and lower racks, and the ends of the device are preferablyinclined at an angle corresponding to the inclination of the ends oftheplate-receiving frame, and this device in the present instance, iscomposed of a hollow fluid-tight body made preferably of sheet metal,such as zinc or any other suitable metal, this device being placed inone end of the rack while the plates are contained in the opposite endthereof, and it serves to displace a considerable quantity of thesolution so that the latter may stand at the desired level although asmall quantity only is necessary. It will be understood of course thatthese filling devices may be of any desired length in proportion to thelength of the rack, and the mode of applying the device to therack isindicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3 on the drawing.

I claim as my invention:

1. A developing tank embodying a pair of racks provided withhorizontally extending plate receiving channels having their opposingwalls inclined in substantially the same direction and capable ofsimultaneously accommodating a plurality of plates of different sizes.

2. A photographic developing tank provided with a pair of racks havingsets of horizontally extending channels to receive the upper and loweredges of the plates, the channels in one rack having their opposingwalls inclined toward one end of the tank and the walls of the otherrack being inclined toward the opposite end of the tank, the channelsbeing arranged to simultaneously accommodate a plurality of plates ofdifferent dimensions.

3. A developing tank of the class described provided with a pair of uper and lower racks having series of para lel horizontally extendingchannels to cooperate with the upper and lower edges of the plates, theopposite Walls of the channels being inclined obliquely relatively inthe same direction to the plane of the bottom of the tank for supportinga plurality of plates simultaneously and in inclined position within thetank.

4. A developing tank of the class described having a removableplate-carrying frame, the latter embodying a pair of upper and lowerracks having channels extending parallel to the bottom of the tank, thewalls of the channels being approximately parallel and inclined atsubstantially the same angle relatively to the bottom of the tank andadapted to simultaneously receive a plurality of plates of differentsizes and in inclined position.

5. A developing tank provided with a re-' movable plate-carrying frameembodying a pair of upper and lower racks having channels with the wallsthereof similarly inclined and adapted to simultaneously support aplurality of plates within the tank, and a light and liquid-tight coveradapted to fit and close the tank.

6. A developing tank provided with a light and liquid-tight cover, and aplate-carrying frame removably fitted in the tank and embodying upperand lower racks provided with horizontally extending plate receivingchannels having opposing walls inclined in the same direction forsupporting a plurality of plates in inclined position within the tank,end-pieces connecting the racks, and transversely extending handlesarranged on the upper side of the frame and accessible after removal ofthe cover.

7. A developing tank provided with a liquid and ligl1t-tight coverremovably fitting the same, and a removable plate-carrying frame fittingwithin the tank and embodying a pair of upper and lower parallel racks,each of the latter being formed of sheet ma terial bent flatwise to forma series of plate receiving channels extending horizontally across thetank and provided with parallel similarly inclined walls between whichthe upper and lower edges of the plates are adapted to slidingly fit,the lower rack being perforated to permit circulation of the solution,end-pieces connecting the ends of the upper and lower racks,longitudinal reinforcing strips attached to the respective racks, andtransverse members connecting the strips 011 the upper rack andproviding handles for the manipulation of the frame.

8. A developing tank provided with a removable liquid and light-tightcover, and a plate-carrying frame adapted to removably fit within thetank, the frame embodying a pair of upper and lower plate engaging rackshaving parallel horizontal channels extending transversely of the framefor slidingly receiving the plates, the walls of the channels beingapproximately parallel and inclined in the same direction and means atone of the vertical sides of the frame for my hand in presence of twosubscribing preventing discharge of the plates from the Witnesses. frameWhen the latter is removed from the tank and tilted laterally, theopposite verti- 5 cal side of the frame being open to receivel/Vitnesses:

the plates. v M. U. BAsINGER, In testimony whereof I have hereunto setR. WV. THORPE.

ALLYN SHERRIOK.

